Which event directly marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States?

The Montgomery Bus Boycott is widely regarded as the event that directly marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. This pivotal protest began in December 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, leading to her arrest. In response, African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, organized a year-long boycott of the city’s buses to protest segregation policies. The boycott not only highlighted the injustice of racial segregation but also demonstrated the power of collective action and nonviolent resistance.

This event galvanized African American communities across the country and inspired leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. to emerge as significant figures in the fight for civil rights. The success of the boycott, which led to a Supreme Court ruling that declared bus segregation unconstitutional, set the stage for further actions and movements aimed at achieving civil rights and equality. It served as a catalyst for subsequent events and campaigns that defined the broader Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Other choices, while significant, occurred either before or after the bus boycott, making them less reflective of the movement's inception. The integration of the military and the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education were important milestones in the fight for civil rights,